Awareness, Attitude, and Performance of Residents in Using Disinfectants to Prevent COVID-19 in 2022: A Case Study in Iran

It is essential to adopt preventive measures to reduce the prevalence and severity of COVID-19. Given the insufficient information about the use of disinfectants against the virus, which leads to various risks, this study aims to investigate awareness, performance, and attitudes of the residents of Yazd city regarding using disinfectants to prevent COVID-19.

In this descriptive study, the sample consisted of 271 people residing in Yazd using convenience sampling method. The tool used was a researcher-made questionnaire, which was reliable, valid, and was divided into two parts; after that the collected data was analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistical tests. SPSS software was used for data processing, and Amos software was used for model design.

Most participants (51.3%) were female. The majority of participants (117 (43.2%)) aged between 30-40, and with an average age of 34.39 ± 9.6. The highest level of education attained by most participants was master's degree by 83 (30.6%) people. The mean and standard deviation for awareness (10.59 ± 2.7), attitude (40.74 ± 7.1), and performance (17.50 ± 5.1) were obtained.  Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis showed that the total effect had the greatest impact on the use of disinfectants, with performance (β = 0.032) and education (β = 0.068) having the strongest effects. Increase in disinfection and having a higher level of education increased the use of disinfectants as well.

As increasing people's awareness, attitude, and performance can help prevent the spread of COVID-19, implementing educational programs and timely comprehensive information dissemination about the use of disinfectants is recommended.